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Our research

Our research represents the voice of food-insecure families.

Families tell us how our fresh approach improves their lives in many more ways than traditional, food-based responses.

Research validates our shift to grocery gift cards

Researchers from the University of Calgary and the O’Brien Institute for Public Health conducted a robust study that explored the impact of our grocery gift card program on agencies and recipients. You can discover more about this research here:

PDF

Experiences and perceived outcomes of a grocery gift card programme for households at risk of food insecurity

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Blog

Beyond access to healthy food: food-insecure families prefer grocery gift cards over food hampers

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Research & evaluation

Check out a summary
of all the results

View research

The case for gift cards

During interviews with study participants, the University of Calgary researchers learned that all recipients prefer to access grocery gift cards rather than free food hampers. Here’s why:

Dignity & Inclusion

Grocery gift card

Free food hamper
They experience no stigma because grocery store staff cannot recognize that they received support from iCAN They fear being recognized by people they know when they are in line to pick up a hamper
They feel more competent to care for their family when they can buy their own food They feel ashamed and less capable when they have to ask for free food
They experience more inclusion when shopping in the same stores with friends and neighbours They are forced to access an alternate food system with little to no choice over what they bring home
They develop more trust and rapport with the agencies who assess their life situation and unique household needs They are often required to satisfy complex eligibility requirements by disclosing personal information on forms

Access & Flexibility

Grocery gift card

Free food hamper
They can buy food that they know their children will eat They cannot anticipate how much of the food they will be able to use
They can choose where to shop, when to shop, and how much of the card to spend They must travel to specific locations, at specific times, despite scheduling conflicts
They can control how much food they buy at one time based on transportation and ability They cannot predict the volume of the food hamper they will need to transport home
They feel less financial stress because they can free up budget to pay for other basic needs or unexpected expenses They experience little to no financial relief when accessing food hampers

Diet Quality & Food Waste

Grocery gift card

Free food hamper
They don’t waste food because they can buy familiar, cultural, and fresh products They can’t eat as much as 70% of the items because they are expired, low quality, or unfamiliar
They improve their kids’ diet quality because they can afford to buy healthier snack items and fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy products, and meats They receive a lot of non-perishables and research shows that pop and confectionary are the most abundant items in food hampers in Canada*
They can afford more costly items that support their kids’ allergies, health needs, or diet restrictions They have little to no control whether the food they receive in the hamper supports their health needs
They can teach their children how to plan and make meals when they can afford all the ingredients They cannot meal plan without the ingredients they need to teach their children how to cook

*M., Bucknell, D., LaPlain, D. (2021). Canada’s Invisible Food Network; Second Harvest
and Value Chain Management International; Ontario, Canada. Accessible from: secondharvest.ca/resources/research

Benefits for agency partners

We conduct a comprehensive program evaluation with our agency partners each year. There continues to be full alignment between the insights they shared with the U of C research team and the feedback they provided in our most recent evaluation. Here is what our partners tell us about our grocery gift card program:

Logistics and resourcing

  • Requires no physical space or refrigeration to store food and food hampers.
  • Removes the burden of assembling and distributing food hampers to families in need.
  • Eliminates the need to monitor, manage, and dispose of donated food waste.

Enhanced client interactions

  • Creates interest and discussion so they can assess and target the families most in need.
  • Frees up more staff time to work directly with clients because there is no need to manage food hampers.
  • Provides a way to explore and address other client needs, such as mental health and employment.

Improved client experience

  • Strengthens trust, engagement, and rapport with clients.
  • Causes no stress for clients because they do not have to fill in application forms.
  • Makes it much easier for clients with language barriers to understand and ask for the support.

New clients often initially connect with us due to unforeseen financial crises. Being able to help them with food insecurity enables us to start working on the deeper issues to stabilize the situation and then move forward with long-term financial goals. Adults in the home feel supported and understood so they can build trust with our organization. Clients express how the gift cards lift a weight off their shoulders.

melody l., rise calgary

We used to give food to hungry kids. Now we empower families to feed themselves.

Become a part of the innovation today!

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